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With their sights firmly set on the ICC Champions Trophy next year, Pakistan is preparing to begin their ODI series against Australia under the leadership of new captain Mohammad Rizwan. Following his recent appointment as the white-ball skipper, Rizwan expressed his determination to discover the right team combination in the lead-up to the tournament, which is bolstered by a series of ODI matches on the horizon.
"We are scheduled to play a good number of ODIs before the next year's ICC Champions Trophy back in Pakistan," Rizwan said in a statement released by PCB, according to ICC. "The forthcoming series beginning with Australia, then Zimbabwe, South Africa and the home tri-nation tournament will help us assemble a right combination going into the mega event," he added. As the reigning champions, having triumphed in the last edition of the tournament in 2017 by defeating India in the final, Pakistan aims to build on their past achievements. The team is currently undergoing a reset to fine-tune their lineup ahead of the prestigious event. In an exciting announcement, Pakistan has revealed their playing XI for the first ODI, featuring debutants Muhammad Irfan Khan and Saim Ayub. Meanwhile, the Men's Cricket World Cup defending champions, Australia, have also named their playing XI for the series opener. They will introduce a new opening pair with Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk, both vying for the position alongside Travis Head in the Champions Trophy. Australian skipper Pat Cummins has encouraged his openers to embrace an aggressive style, granting them the freedom to play their natural game reminiscent of T20 cricket. "Both of them in T20 and one-dayers have been pretty scary to bowl at so that's our message to them," he said ahead of the ODI, according to ICC. "My preference would be they give it a good crack for sure," he added. Australia XI for first ODI: Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis (wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa Pakistan XI for first ODI: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (captain/wicket-keeper), Kamran Ghulam, Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain. (ANI)
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